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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0207 CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS CITY OF BAKERSFIELD COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT CP No. 2.7 SUBJECT: CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS SECTION: CHAPTER TWO POLICY: ADOPTION OF POLICY FOR CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS STATEMENT: Establishes a policy regarding the conduct of City Council meetings. ADOPTION: Agenda Item NO./Date 8.c.; November 17. 2021 Approved by City Council Res. No. 206-2021 Amended by City Council SACOUNCIL\Policies\Policy Statements\2.7.doc 206 - 2021 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD ESTABLISHING A COUNCIL POLICY FOR CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS. WHEREAS, rules and regulations governing the conduct of City Council meetings were previously set forth in Chapter 2.04 of the Bakersfield Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, the Council finds that establishing a Council policy regarding the conduct of City Council meetings provides greater flexibility to ensure meetings are efficient and in compliance with the law. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Bakersfield as follows: 1) The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by reference. 2) The City Council hereby adopts the Policy for Conducting City Council Meetings as set forth in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein. 3) This Resolution shall become effective December 31, 2021. --------0000000-------- I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Bakersfield at a regular meeting thereof held on NOV 17 2021 by the following vote: *AI COUNCILMEMBER,AR S,GaANZALES ,SMITH,Ff ";.., d,GRAY,PAF�LIER COUNCILMEMBER N: COUNCILMEMBER ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBER 44 JJLIE DRIMAKIS, MMC CITY CLERK and Ex Officio Clerk of the Council of the City of Bakersfield APPROVED NV 12 201 By -M%,Of KREN G H Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: ASHBy LEY a BRA Deputy y Attorney AEZOvIcg Attachment: Exhibit A S:`ACC UNCIL\Resos\21-22\counci8 Policy.-council Procedures.docx K,L K ', r._ EXHIBIT A POLICY FOR CONDUCTING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS SECTION 1. RULES OF ORDER Except as otherwise provided in this policy, the city charter, or other Council policy, the City Council shall generally follow Robert's Rules of Order, current edition. i SECTION 2. DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER. The duties of the presiding officer shall be: A. To call the meeting to order; B. To recognize the members entitled to the floor; C. To preserve and enforce order and decorum; D. To consider and decide, in the presiding officer's sole discretion, requests for extensions of time during public statements and public hearings; E. To reorder items of business on the agenda to promote meeting efficiency, if determined appropriate in the presiding officer's sole discretion; t i F. To decide all points of order, unless when in doubt the presiding officer prefers to submit the question to the decision of the body; G. Generally to guide and direct the proceedings of the body, subject to the control and will of the body; i H. To carry out any other duties as specified in the city charter. SECTION 3. SERGEANT AT ARMS. A. There shall be a sergeant at arms, who shall be the Chief of Police or designee. B. The sergeant at arms shall attend all regular sessions, and shall, under the direction of the presiding officer, maintain order on the floor of the Council chambers. t: r� SECTION 4. ORDER OF BUSINESS. A. Except as may otherwise be set by resolution of the City Council, regular meetings of the Council shall generally be noticed for 3:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. The primary reason for the 3:30 p.m. meetings is to handle closed session matters, but the city manager has discretion to place other matters on said agenda, B. At the time set for regular meetings of the City Council, the business of the Council shall be taken up for consideration and generally discussed in the following order: 1. Roll Call; 2. Invocation; 3. Pledge of Allegiance; 4. Presentations; 5. Public Statements: a. Agenda Item Public Statements; b. Non-Agenda Item Public Statements; 6. Appointments; 7. Consent Calendar; 8. Consent Calendar Public Hearings; 9. Public Hearings, 10. Reports; 11. Deferred Business; 12. New Business; 13. Council and Mayor Statements; 14. Closed Session (if continued from 3-30 p.m.),- 15. Adjournment. C. The order of business set forth above may be changed by the city manager prior to the posting of the agenda to allow for a smooth and orderly flow of business during the meeting. SECTION 5. CONSENT CALENDAR. A. The consent calendar is comprised of one or more items of routine nature which may be approved at one time by affirmative roll call vote. B. Only a Councilmember may remove an item(s) from the consent calendar which shall be voted upon separately from all other items on said consent calendar. C. Any Councilmember may declare a conflict of interest, indicate the cause of the conflict and request the city clerk to record their abstention from the vote on any item or items on the consent calendar. That Councilmember's vote on the consent calendar shall be recorded only for those items for which that Councilmember did not declare a conflict and the city clerk shall record the abstention of the remaining issues. D. The minutes of the previous Council meeting, which shall be action-style t minutes, may be approved as part of the consent calendar. SECTION b. CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS. A. Consent calendar public hearings are those matters which shall be set for public hearing but are considered routine and non-controversial. Consent calendar public hearings may be simultaneously opened and closed by the presiding officer and approved at one time by affirmative roll call vote. B. Prior to opening the hearing, the presiding officer shall inquire as to whether any member of the public or Council wishes to remove a matter from the consent calendar public hearings. Any such item so removed shall be placed at the end of the Public Hearings portion of the meeting. SECTION 7. PUBLIC STATEMENTS. A. Any person may address the Council on any item of interest to the public that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council as follows: 1 . Agenda Items. All persons desiring to address the Council on an item listed on the agenda shall speak during the Agenda Item Public Statements portion of the meeting. Speakers shall be limited to two �AX6 t: s minutes per person, twenty minutes per agenda item. Note: The Consent Calendar as a whole constitutes one agenda item. 2. Non-Agenda Items. All persons desiring to address the Council on a general item of interest within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Council that is not listed on the agenda shall speak during the Non Agenda Item Public Statements portion of the meeting. Speakers shall be limited to two minutes per person, twenty minutes total. Speakers who do not identify the topic on which they wish to speak will be presumed speakers for Non-Agenda Item Public Statements and called during that portion of the meeting. } I 3. Public Hearings. All persons wishing to address the Council regarding a matter set for public hearing at that meeting shall make their comments during the open public hearing on that matter, pursuant to the public hearing procedures set forth in Section 8. B. All persons wishing to address the Council during a meeting will be asked to fill out and return to the city clerk a speaker's card provided by the city clerk. The purpose of the speaker's cards is to facilitate orderly and relevant public statements during the appropriate portions of the meeting; however, filling out a speaker's card is voluntary and shall not be a prerequisite to providing a public statement. The speaker's cards shall provide a place for speakers to identify which item on the agenda they wish to speak, or alternatively,whether they wish to provide a Non-Agenda l Item Public Statement. i C. No person shall address the Council until recognized by the mayor or presiding officer. Councilmembers who wish to allow a member of the audience to speak at times other than the time designated for the public statement, or after a public hearing has been closed, may do so only with the permission of the presiding officer. D. Unless otherwise determined by the Council, the presiding officer shall determine whether a speaker's statement is a matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council SECTION 8. HEARINGS. A. Hearings. Scheduled public hearings are to be conducted in the following order: 1. Presentation by staff and recommendation; 2. Public hearing is opened by the presiding officer; r y TY9 a- 3. Presentation by opponents, limited to fifteen minutes total for all speakers; provided, however, additional time may be granted by the presiding officer; 4. Presentation by proponents, with the time limits specified in subsection (A)(3), and such equivalent additional time as may have been granted to opponents; 5. Where a hearing is the result of an appeal, the order of presentation shall be reversed and the appellant shall proceed first;the time limits provisions of subsection (A)(3) shall apply; 6. Summation by both sides limited to five minutes each; provided, however, both sides may be granted additional time by the presiding officer; 7. Public hearing is closed by the presiding officer; 8. Council discussion and Council decision. B. Spokesperson for Group of Persons. In order to expedite matters and avoid repetitious presentations, whether any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the some subject matter, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Council, and in the event additional matters are to be presented at the time by any other member having like views as the group, to limit the number of such persons addressing the Council and limit the time for each person. SECTION 9. RULES OF DEBATE. A. Presiding Officer May Debate and Vote. In the absence of the mayor, the vice-mayor or such other member of the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges as a Councilmember by reason of their acting as the presiding officer. B. Getting the Floor—improper References to be Avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the chair, and upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall discuss only the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. C. Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless called to order, or as otherwise provided in this section. If a gP�tfi n OORlGNAL member, while speaking, is called to order, said member shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, shall be permitted to proceed. D. Remarks of Mayor. The mayor may express views on any subject for consideration by the Council and may file any written recommendations with the clerk. SECTION 10. COUNCILMEMBER DISSENT AGAINST COUNCIL ACTION. Any Councilmember may state the reason for dissent from or protest against any action of the Council. SECTION 11. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, MOTIONS AND CONTRACTS. A. Preparation of Ordinances. All ordinances shall be reviewed by the city attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered by a majority vote of the Council, or referred by a Council committee, or prepared or recommended by the city attorney on her or his own initiative (e.g., "ordinance clean-ups" to reflect current practice or correct typographical and grammatical errors, or to comply with new rules and regulations). B. Prior Approval by Administrative Staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, have been approved as to form and legality by the city attorney or authorized representative, and shall have been examined and approved for the administration by the city manager or authorized representative, where there are substantive matters of administration involved. SECTION 12. ADJOURNMENT. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and decided without debate. SECTION 13. COMPLIANCE. Failure to strictly adhere to this policy shall not be grounds for setting aside any action or vote of the City Council. 'r'(AGNAL